says hatching a plan to furlough senators and congress members unless they can work in an airport tower. >> you don't have a lot of cornelius's today. should lock them in a tour tower and see what they can come up with. thank you so much, john. "morning joe" starts right now. >> a.j. cla demente was fired ar his first day.

[ bleep ] he is proud to announce he is come able to curse for you. for a nominal fee a.j. clemente will curse at your event, birthday party, bar mitzvah or just to tell that special someone you love her. [ bleep ]. >> act now and get half off appearances by tiger woods. don't delay. book today! >> that's just -- i'm excited because alex did come through for me for once. >> finally. >> yeah. he'll be on today. on the show. >> a.j. clemente? >> the cursing fired anchor. >> the a.j. clemente. >> if you're a fired anchor, no better place for you to be than on the set of "morning joe." >> this is the epi center of, it my friend. >> let it rip, a.j. >> blanking f-bomb epi center.

all right. i'm thinking about getting into the twitter. >> are you? getting into twitter. >> really? >> sometimes things go bad on the twitter. >> holy cow. >> yesterday, i'm look at the "usa today" and, wow. so what happened yesterday, willie? >> mike barnicle. >> associated press twitter account is hacked and something terrible is written about the president that we don't even need to repeat. >> no. >> and there are automatic functions down at the new york stock exchange. they scan the news and instantly the dow dropped 145 points on this erroneous false report and which a little bit scary to think any time a news organization's twitter account is hacked, it instantly plunges the dow 150 points. >> wow. but we will get to that. >> mike barnicle, another reason not to invest in the stock market. >> not only but all of these things. have you heard of facebook? all of these things have

potential danger. twitter and facebook. >> yes, my son. he tells me, you know, the facebook -- i sit and listen to the arcade fire and then i go look at the facebook and twitter and -- >> save you from yourself and just move it. >> originally was called that in the harvard dorm room. >> when joey's friends would come over. joey, i love the green day. wheezer. >> with us on the set, we have msnbc contributor mike barnicle. >> he's great. >> senior fellow at demos, bob herbert and on capitol hill, former governor of vermont and former chairman of the democratic national committee howard dean. how are you doing, howard? >> i'm good. >> nice to have you on board. >> nice to be back even though it's an ungodly hour but it's going to be 75 in washington today. >> i won't believe it until i see it.

i'm still in my winter clothes. >> it was 39 degrees yesterday afternoon! >> supposed to be 70 here today. >> don't tell me that. >> all right. the surviving suspect in the last week's boston marathon bombing said he and his brother were self-radicalized and that the attack was fueled by their anger toward the u.s. over the wars in iraq and afghanistan. federal authorities now believe the brothers acted alone without foreign ties when they detonated two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line at the boston marathon. the 19-year-old who suffered gunshot wounds is listed in fair condition. officials say he claims the bomb making instructions came from an english language magazine supported by al qaeda's affiliate in yemen. according to the associated press, the older suspect who was killed by police was heavily influenced by a muslim convert

who he befriended in the years before the attack. it was toward a strict strain of islam known to the families by misha. questions about the fbi's prior contact with the alleged bomber and whether russian authorities raised concerns about the suspect on more than one occasion. the mother refuses to believe her sons are responsible for last monday's bombing. >> what happened is a terrible thing but i know my kids have nothing to do with this. i know it. i am mother. i have -- you know, i know my kids. i know my kids. i really -- really, my kids would never get involved into anything like that. >> on capitol hill, homeland security secretary janet napolitano was questioned about the older brother's yaever seas travel which is factoring into the debate over immigration

reform. >> was your department aware of his travels to russia and if you weren't, the reason. >> yes. the system pinged when he was leaving the united states. by the time he returned, all investigations had been -- the matter had been closed. >> is it true that his identity document did not match his airline ticket and if so why did tsa miss the discrepancy? >> there was a mismatch there. by the way, the bill will help with this because it requires that passports be electronically readable as opposed to to having be manually input and it really does a good job of getting human error to the extent it exists out of the process. >> what do you think, mika? >> i think they missed it clearly. and i think that there's, obviously, ultimately no excuse but it's incredibly hard. it's terrible what has happened and just listening to that

mother is chilling. it's absolutely chilling. >> more than that. >> yeah. >> yeah. so they missed it. but, mike, it reminds me of when you were talking to one of the top intel guys in america a few years ago and he said if you saw every day what i saw every day, you would never sleep at night. there are a lot of things that they catch. and we don't know an awful lot about what has happened quite yet. maybe there will be a file that, you know, landed on the fbi director's desk that says, look out for these two chechenian guys. you have to say you missed this. democrats do it to republican

presidents and republicans do it to democratic president. >> bob, you're familiar with than phenomenon from years of working in "the new york times." it raises the question at least in my mind how many warnings do the fbi get about various people from other people into the fbi from indell stuff? >> i think it's alarming stuff. stopping terror in a free society, you never going to be able to do it completely. and they are inundated with tips and false leads and that sort of thing. it seems to me ever since september 11th, they have done a pretty good job keeping the country safe and you have to have an investigation. you got to find out what went awry but i would be reluctant to rush to judgment, you know, and cast blame here. >> the other thing that jumps out about this when you read

everything is how easy this was for them to go online to an online magazine called "inspire" a magazine started by a guy named samere con and it says how to put together one of these pressure cooker bombs. new york commissioner ray kelly was here a couple of days saying i'm surprised this hasn't happened before. >> absolutely. >> given how easy it is. the only reason they would have been on the fbi's radar is for that travel but for somebody who lives inside the united states, you don't have to travel. you just have to go online and you can find the recipe to kill three people and injure 200? you've got the recipe and then you get in a car and you drive to new hampshire and you get 400 dollars worth of fireworks from a fireworks store. there is your gun powder. b bebes are readily available and you're off. >> it's up to the police and i

guess new york cops -- i don't know whether they have done this in the past or not but, you know, for an event like new year's eve celebration, just don't let anybody carry a backpack for like 30 square blocks. >> the marathon was a target because everyone does. >> not any more. >> that's one thing you go to a race and everyone has got their stuff. there is no way to do it otherwise. >> well, they are going to have to do it. this is going to be something that you know. >> you think that is an awfully hard thing for anybody to track even if you're the fbi. you would have to watch everybody who is ever online and people going on the website "inspire" and building something that easiest. a little too easy. democrats face a new hurdle in their bid to keep control of the u.s. senate in 2014. finance committee chair max balkus says he will not seek a seventh term in office. he has served in washington more than 40 years and has nearly $5 million in campaign cash on hand.

a powerful voice on tax issues. the 71-year-old has, at times, clashed with fellow democrats for opposing his own party's initiative and he was one of four democrats who voted last week against extended background checks for gun sales. six democrats not running for re-election next year and most of whom represent competitive seats. party leads in montana are looking to former democratic governor brian schweitzer as their best chance to holding on to baucus' seat. what do you think of this, howard dean? >> i predicted this a weeking on a "morning joe." here is the problem. baucus, i think is described as a centrist democrat which means he voted with the republicans on the important issues that we care about. and ed schweitzer is this

populous guy and even though he is not that liberal he is a populace. each in montana the vote matters a lot. the last poll a couple of days showed bryan schweitzer with a 19-.lead in a primary over max baucus. a hill too high to climb. no amount of money is going to fix that kind of problem especially with a guy who has 100% rain recognition which is the former governor, brian schweitzer. >> move on to the general election. a problem that democrats face in states like montana. >> not like montana, joe. this one -- you know, brian schweitzer is 100% name recognition, left office with great numbers. i still think this is a democratic seat. i do worry about some of the other ones. michigan will be tough but i think this one is in pretty good

shape, assuming he runs. >> my bigger point is, obviously, progressives on the coast would, like max baucus to have been more liberal but a statement that mitt romney carried by 20 percentage points. >> right. >> it's sort of reverse of what we have been talking about as far as the republican party goes. >> interesting state, though. it's a very complex one. bill clinton won it. the unions are strong there. it's a western state. it's very libertarian, but it's also -- has a long history of progressiveness. don't forget, they had a campaign finance level which prevented corporations from giving money and they have had it for a hundred years, until the supreme court threw it out last year. so montana is a very complicated state, a very interesting state. and i do not think it is a deep red state like utah is. i think it's a state that could be won by either party. >> howard, why are so many democrats retiring? six democrats in the senate. why? >> most of of it is age. a lot have been there for a long

time and there does come a time where you don't want to be carried out with your boots on. some people do but it gets harder and harder. we were looking at the clip earlier of chuck grassley in that hearing. you know, at that point what really happens is some age puts those questions in front of him and he reads they will. it's kabuki theater. everybody knows what everybody is going to say and i guess a point at some point you want to spend your time doing something else. >> joe and howard, you both know max baucus. in fact, he was here recently. if he knows he is leaving, why would he vote no on background checks? >> i don't think he knew he was leaving. he has $5 million war chest. usually you see senator levin, for example, didn't really raise much money. you could telegraph that he wasn't going to run again. i think that, you know, max baucus had a tough moment when he voted what he thought was going to help him in the general election and the problem is in a primary you have a whole different set of issues. >> i do think that after that

vote, things became insurmountable and it it would for any democrat really in a primary. >> the vote would hurt them? >> the vote against background checks. >> would hurt them? >> yeah. of course, in a democratic primary. i do agree with howard. at that point it became insurmountable. i am hoping, though, we can get another piece of legislation that gives max baucus and others a chance in background checks and i think it may be coming. so let's talk about -- let's talk about airplanes. >> okay. >> because i'm -- >> politicians. got it. >> you're about to explode. >> no, background checks. >> no relief in sight at the nation's airport. sequester continues to take its toll in the airline industry. >> harry reid says democrats will make a plan to end the sequester can you see using

money in the war against afghanistan. it will view new legislation to bring air traffic controllers back to work full-time but senator mitchell mcconnell is blaming the obama administration for allowing the cuts in the first place. didn't they agree on this together? as a result of the administration's poor planning, i would argue political motives and thousands of people were stuck on tarmacs over the last few days. the faa's mismanagement of this issue is a source of bipartisan frustration. our goal here shouldn't be to score political points on the backs of weary travelers. it should be to fix the problem. >> i find it fascinating that mitch mcconnell is decrying the sequester that he decried in the past and then supported. this is a result of the sequester being implemented. we made it clear that there would be these kinds of negative effects if congress failed to take reasonable action to avert

the sequester. >> what did "the new york times" say? an editorial for the "the new york times" takes republicans to task for criticizing cuts. the faa cuts but not the other sequester cuts that reads in part this. you don't see any republican hashtags for cutting housing vouchers to 140,000 low income families. >> oh, god! just stop! >> despite the cuts only amount to 4%. faa budget only 10% cut for the air traffic controllers. we said this yesterday, willie, this is unsustainable to make americans stand in the long lines at airports. >> or have their flight canceled

for no good reason. i think you saw bob the last minute what people are disgusted by washington on both sides and this is off something they created for themselves so that they would be able to resolve a budget crisis which they couldn't resolve and now fighting over whose fault it was that it was created. >> my wife takes a flight from new york to boston the other day, important meeting. they are trying to get kids into these elite colleges. flight is delayed in new york. it's delayed landing in boston. lost so much time. the meeting can't happen. then she has to wait in the airport to get a flight back to new york and was completely an utterly wasted day. i think what is going to happen you can try to make the political points one way or another. i think a lot of public are throwing up their hands and -- on both of their houses. >> i think so. we have a 3.5 trillion budget.

spending has exploded the past four years. i know you got people on the left saying if you look at this chart. no. spending has absolutely exploded. it exploded under the bush administration for eight straight years. it's exploded under the obama administration over four straight years. it's a 3.5 trillion dollar budget. please! don't tell me that we can't afford to keep enough air traffic controllers in the towers. >> are we really talking about this? >> yeah, we are. washington doesn't work. you're exactly right. like steve rattner said yesterday. the entire system is dated. >> here we go again. these buffoons vote down background checks and this huge story and back to talking about the sequester? are you kidding me? i'm sorry.

but this is incredible. totally nonproductive, insanely boring! >> this is what happens when congress and the president -- i'm going to put it on chronic right now because the president did talk about social security and then he got attacked. this is what happens when 70% of the budget is basically not ever talked about. when you can't talk about entitlements and the past, you haven't been able to talk about defense. so, mike, they go to 12% of the budget and hack it up. i've been talking about it for two years that we can invest in discretionary spending if we take care of long-term debt and it it is boring but it means when you chop infrastructure and all of these other areas, americans will suffer. >> probably closer to 90% of the budget that is left apart from

any interest -- when you look at the clip from senator mcconnell and not just him. it's not just republicans. these people, like senator mcconnell, are just not living in the same world that we live in. they are not living the same kinds of lives. >> i couldn't agree more. >> that average americans live. >> right. >> your wife at the airport, multiply that by millions of people through an ordinary day. they are so far isolated from ordinary life that it's sort of shocking. >> as "the times" points out little kids who want to be in head start and everybody agrees prek education is critical for the future of this country and we are hacking that out of all of the things we have in the budget? >> we are spending over $2 billion in afghanistan which doing the past four years. what could we have done with all of that money? >> and we stayed at a holiday

inn select the other my. >> we did too. >> the height of the recession and wealthiest americans increase their wealth while the rest of the country fell. pew research saw up 28% from 2009 to 2011 for the wealthy. the other 93% of the country saw theirs decline! by 4%. according to pew the difference was driven by the fact the stock and bond markets were strong and the housing market bottomed out. >> howard dean, this is what so many americans don't understand, why wall street is enjoying record profits, reaching record highs, and main street is suffering and more americans are falling into poverty and many classes losing pace every single day. >> it's very interesting and the same reason you guys were talking about. dysfunctional that congress is.

this sounds like over the top rhetoric and i don't like to say this. >> i know you don't! wait! come on! let it loose, my friend. >> that's all right. feel comfortable. >> yeah. >> they really are paid for by big corporations. that is who runs congress. and of course, supreme court made it much easier. but there is no reason -- we were talking about before i got on about a new system where they can get information back and forth between the chicago board of trade and tthe new york stoc change and get some advantage. it has no benefit to the capital system whatsoever. it just disturbs market and it's about getting a few guys very wealthy at the expense of everybody else. this is insane. >> to quote a.j. clemente. coming up on "morning joe," senator pat toomey says he has a plan to end the air travel mess. he joins us later. tom brokaw will be here along with "the daily beast" tina

brown and later emmy award winning tv legend alan alda will join us on the set are. up next, letters containing poison risen even to president obama and turns out the elvis impersonator didn't do it. >> he says he doesn't eat rice. he said i i don't even eat rice! he did! >> he said he was framed by a karate instructor in tupelo, mississippi. >> by the way, i think this guy ran against the karate instructor from tupelo, mississippi a mother for judge! >> this is where fiction is dying! >> this is what happened! >> who is on the screen play now? >> bottom line, this guy, he didn't eat rice! and they are coming in and say he is sprinkling -- >> he said rice to see you. >> i'm trying to think of a

transition to bill karins and i can't think of one! >> you know what? here is one. >> i got it. >> i got it. >> first, let's go to a guy who doesn't imitate elvis. he imdates a meteorologist who actually claims to know what is going to happen today in the weather! was that pretty good, bill? >> it wasn't your best wok. >> it's really cold yesterday. it's 39 degrees! >> we're really sick of this! >> congratulations. >> we're freeze to death! when is it going to end? >> that was to make you appreciate today and the next week, by the way. it looks like the miserable spring in new england is done. a thing of the past. i have at least six or seven days in a row of 60-degree temperatures for you. it is going to be nice through the middle of next week. starting off cool. once the sun goes to work today it is going to be gorgeous. this should be about one of the warmest days we have had this spring in new york city and

philadelphia and albany, new york. it is about time! we have made it! now the rest of the country is not doing quite as nice. as far as the middle of the country goes, it's still winter there. rain continues to fall in the ohio valley where the rivers are going down. check out the cold weather. the big story. in new england, we complain. we have no right to complain. denver all the way north wards have been suffering through snow and cold this last week and even this morning the windchills in the 20s in oklahoma city. we're in the teens in denver. so the midwest, you are next. because i have really good news for you this upcoming weekend too. today is kind of chilly in the midwest. the east coast is much warmer and for our friends there in the northern plains we go in the right direction. 63 in denver. and then by the time the weekend arrives, mid-70s from minneapolis. so everyone finally say good-bye to winter weather. nice sunrise. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro.

transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business.

take a look at the morning papers. "the sun herald." federal authorities dropped charles against a onetime elvis impersonator who they say dropped ricen letters to politicians. j. everett dutchkay his residence was searched who was considered -- >> he is an online rival to mr. curtis. apparently the two had exchanged angry e-mails for years. yesterday curtis spoke to reporters shortly after his release. >> the last seven days staring at four gray walls like green green grass at home, team. not really knowing what is happening.

not having a clue why i'm there. when you've been charged with something and you just -- you've never heard of ricin or whatever. i thought they said rice and i said i don't even eat rice! >> so, willie, let's break this down. >> yes. >> so they are online rivals? >> yes. >> remember that -- impersonator. >> and karate instructor down there in tupelo. >> he knows karate? >> mr. deutsche? >> mr. deutschekay is the karate instructor. >> losing the entire set! >> an important story we are following this morning on "morning joe." >> how about those jets? >> mr. curtis also said the thing he is worried about most. >> what is he worried about? >> finding his dog moo cow. >> who? >> his dog is moo cow and he

wants to find that dog. >> mtv has a new reality show. >> let's go to business section of the "the wall street journal." apple nearly beat expectations. 10 million more than it sold a year ago ipads and iphones. they would double returns to investors through stock buybacks and dividends. >> what else is going on? >> that's about it. see what he nose about mr. deutschekay. >> mike allen knows about everything and has a look inside the playbook. what are the implications of the karate instructor in tupelo, mississippi? >> tough to top it. i will not try to say those names. >> good call. despite the feet of background checks last week in the united states senate begun

advocacy groups are trying to keep the pressure on congress and what impact will it feel like the horse left the barn last week? >> if we have the attention of anybody around the table, they will be happy to hear about this ad here at "morning joe." they have been saying that there should be attention paid to those people who voted against the increased background check. this group by gabby giffords. a tough ad. maggie haberman calls of a gut punch ad. going up against minimum -- mitch mcconnell and kelly ayotte. both of these ads aimed at women and in the mcconnell ad they talk about the newtown headlines and the vote against tougher gun laws in the kelly ayotte area

and we hear women talking to each other about the vote. these will run heavily the next two weeks and a sign for americans for responsible solutions will keep up this drum beat even though the vote has come and gone for this session of congress. >> i tell you what, i don't say this often. i really don't. there are some votes you can't survive in certain states. max baucus could not survive and howard dean, let me go to you. where did dean go? you know what? he went down to mississippi. he is chasing that story. >> he is looking for moo cow. >> he is looking for the dog, moo cow. >> a good name for a dog. >> we are talking about max baucus could not survive in a democratic primary with that vote. i got to say, mike allen, in new hampshire, i do not see how kelly ayotte even though her race is several years away i don't see how you survive that vote in a general election in new hampshire. you just don't do it.

maybe she has her eyes on the national ticket. >> what was she promised to be so self-destructive? >> i don't think she was promised anything. i think it's fear, mike. they are fearing the wrong source. they are fearing the 5% to 7% instead of the voters in their own state. i don't understand that vote. >> the more people you talk to in washington even a lot of republicans thinks the fears of the national rifle association are overblown and, joe, you make a great point about the length of time until her race. this will be a real test of the public attention span, a test of the ability of groups like gabby giffords group to keep a focus on this issue. it's very rare is there a sustained focus on an issue. we talked to david axelrod about how president obama was going to be playing his cards after this

defeat and i made the point that the president thinks this has to be a voting issue that it's not just a matter of voters bringing pressure on their lawmakers but, in fact, someone losing an election because they voted for this. they are afraid of losing the election because they vote for it. david axelrod said real change will come the first time that someone like kelly ayotte loses because of a vote that they took this way. >> guess what? you can already mark one down. you can mark max baucus after making the vote realized he couldn't survive this primary. so there is one example of it. we will see what happens. but willie, i did actually, i said i he never been on twitter but i have been on there once or twice. and, yesterday, i was, you know, i did an op-ed in politico and i tweeted it up. the responses just hilarious. responses to me saying in

virginia where the nra are established, 91% of gun owners support background checks. in new jersey, 95%. pennsylvania, 69% and south carolina 87% and in texas about 80% support the background checks. the responses are, i mean, it's so laughable. all of the responses from the gun lobby, no matter what you do and all of the responses from people, they just -- there is no answer. so they try to change the subject, it's a year, did you see this poll 49% of americans are against all gun control? you know what? 91% of people in virginia don't think this is gun control. they think this is anti-terror tactics. 87% of people in south carolina don't think this is gun control. they think this is anti-crime tactics and they can change the subject all they want. we are going to away. you're going to lose. you're going to lose. and people that voted against

this are going to pay. they are going to pay politically in a big way, mike. people can change the subject all they want. people are screwed unless they find an excuse to vote on this bill again and pass. so terrorists and criminals have to go through background checks and can't walk into a gun show or go online and buy an assault weapon. >> they are not going to be able to change any time soon the concentration on this issue because within a few days, i would assume, as the investigation proceeds, we are going to find out how these two people in cambridge, massachusetts got an m-4 and other weapons and outgunned the watertown police department. >> they got them legally. i've been talking about background checks and tough gun trafficking laws and all i've been talking about the past couple of months. those are anti-crime measures

and anti-terror measures and when i have some idiot come up to me and i don't usually call people that but they say terrorists will not go through background checks but, of course, they are not but they are going to walk in a gun show or go online and get it or they are going to get it through gun trafficking. we shut down gun trafficking with tough gun laws that say if you sell a gun to somebody illeg looelt illegally, you're going to jail. these kids that turn into teens, this 19-year-old kid who is following his brother, they will not be aeble to go online or go to a gun show or get it illegally. you make it tougher. >> another thing that is going to happen before long we will have another one of these terrible tragedies and another after that so this issue is not going to go away. the ones who voted what i feel is the wrong way on this issue are not going to be able to hide.

>> they are not going to be able to hide and all of the stupid arguments that people make online and all of the stupid arguments that are coming out of the survivalist wing of the nra, it's just -- they are going to lose. they are going to lose. when you got 91% of gun owners in virginia against you, when you got 87% of people in south carolina's first district against you, when you got almost 80% of texas voters against you. you're going to lose. we will be right back on that happy note. i have low testosterone. there, i said it. how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests.

showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body, enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. so...what do men do when a number's too low?

turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. with the innovating and the transforming and the revolutionizing. it's enough to make you forget that you're flying five hundred miles an hour on a chair that just became a bed. you see, we're doing some changing of our own. ah, we can talk about it later. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving.

♪ ♪ back now live. >> how are you doing, bob? >> bob, you okay? i think i'm doing all right. >> are you? >> no, i'm not sure. >> do you need to take an aspir aspirin? >> i need more than an aspirin. >> bob briefly went into cardiac arrest in the last break and you'll see why coming up. >> 8:15 eastern time. let's do quick sports. nba playoffs in new york. knicks and celtics at the garden. fourth quarter. jason kidd rips paul pierce and steals the pass to raymond felton and lobs it. for j.r. smith the newly mint sixth man of the year. 4 points for carmelo and knicks up 2-0 and heat and warriors got wins last night. major league baseball. time lapse video showing grounds crews at coors field in denver clearing snow before a double-header yesterday between

the rockies and braves. game one temperature, 23 degrees! >> oh, my goodness! >> in the nightcap, history here. top of the fifth. b.j. upton goes deep. on the next pitch his brother justin upton over the right center field wall. back-to-back home runs by a pair of brothers! the first time that has happened in the bigs since 1938. braves win 10-2 and they are the best team in baseball. >> i saw that first one. >> back in '38? >> good guys, too, weren't they? >> they went out after it. >> the braves are incredible. 15-537 best team in baseball, would you say, at the moment, the braves? >> at this moment, yes. >> 30 games in but they are tough. tomorrow, roger goodell the nfl commissioner will be here and along with the espn analyst, jon gruden. >> we love that guy, jon gruden! >> new developments in the trial of the philadelphia abortion provider kermit gosnell and the

a judge tossed out three of the charges against him. joe who has been covering the trial from the beginning will join us. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. we love to eat.

we just didn't know that our plants did, too. then we started using miracle-gro liquafeed every two weeks. now our plants get the food they need while we water. so they're bigger, healthier, and more beautiful. guaranteed. when you feed your plants, everyone grows with miracle-gro. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker and had them show us.

we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪ for those nights when it's more than a bad dream, be ready. for the times you need

to double-check the temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin. joe." i just got handed "the boston globe." look at this headline. >> yeah. >> the fbi was warned repeatedly by russia about the suspect, the senators say. and if that is, in fact, the case, if they were repeatedly warned about the suspect, there's a real a serious problem we were talking about. we don't know the story and we still don't know the entire story but this certainly, repeated warnings as the globe is saying this morning. >> came out of the senate intelligence committee testimony yesterday. fountain russians were so concerned why didn't they grab him? they had him six months and

didn't touch him when got there and didn't arrest him before he left. today, defense arguments are expected to begin in the trial for dr. kermit gosnell an abortion provider who is accused of killing fetuses that were alive. >> those are actually called babies. >> i can't even read this. >> they are not fetuses when they are alive. they are called babies. and he would put scissors in their neck. a judge thrown out three of the seven murder charges for this doctor accused of killing babies. with us now from philadelphia, criminal court reporter for the philadelphia inquirer, joe slobodzian. we see the headlines, joe, screaming headlines online. and for those of us that have been shocked and horrified, we are scratching our heads wondering why the judge threw these charges out. >> what happened? >> there are still charges against him. set this up for us.

what happened yesterday? >> well, the prosecution ended last thursday and it's very typical after the prosecution rests its case and chief for the defense to file what are called motions for directed verdict of acquittal. which is what dr. gosnell's attorney mack mcmahon did. >> and in layman's term that is just telling the judge, hey, judge, they laid out the case against my incline, they didn't put enough evidence out there to convict him on the charges. so even before we start our defense, throw it out, right? and he did on three charges. why? >> well, one of them, pardon me, was a does she t-- the casey of found frozen in the clinic refrigerator. there was reflconflicting testi by several of the pathologists whether this fetus was ever alive. i think that probably swayed the

judge that unless somebody is going to tell me that this baby fetus took a breath, there was no way he would uphold the murder charge on that counsel. the other two are a little bit more complex. they are cases where the actual cutting of the infant's spine was done by gosnell's staff. workers who aren't trained in the medical profession at all but who were told, according to what they said in court, that they had the ability to do this type of procedure and that it was routine. gosnell gets charged because he is the doctor and it's his clinic. he told the employees to do this, but i think the judge probably figured that given that the actual act was committed by somebody else, those two would go out. >> joe, sounds like the judge is giving this person, the defendant, the benefit of the

doubt. again, it's always dangerous to judge anything from the distant not being in the courtroom day in and day out. i'll ask you were people who were following the trial surprised that the judge threw out these three charges? >> i wouldn't say that i was surprised. i mean, this typically happens in a case such as this one where the factual issues are really complex. there is a definition of what constitutes a live birth under pennsylvania law. there are definitions in the pennsylvania abortion control act. with these three counts out, the doctor faces four counts of first-degree murder and any one of them could result in a death penalty for him. >> all right. >> on the four counts of first-degree murder he is still facing, the staff that worked for him, have any of them been charged? are they testifying against him

or cut a plea deal to testify against him? >> all of the above. originally, nine employees were charged along with gosnell, all except the one defendant, eileen o'neill who is on trial with him, have pleaded guilty and most of the ones who pleaded guilty have agreed to testify against him and, in fact, have testified against him. >> joe, we will have you back. thank you so much for your reporting. mika, this is -- and i think bob was here last time and said the type of things -- as he was describing just a little bit of what has been alleged against this abortion provider. we all flinched at the table and we were all turning our heads and we were all looking down and we were all cringing and as bob said last time, when that is your reaction, your responsibility as a reporter is not to run away from it, but to

actually go there. it's just like newtown which the details when i learned about them were so staggering. i had trouble sleeping for a long time. >> my first reaction to that first count he brought up is, yes, it was alive. the baby was alive. why are we arguing? sorry. we will be right back. start , build a ground-breaking car. good. now build a time machine. go here, find someone who can build a futuristic dash board display. bring future guy back. watch him build a tft display like nothing you've ever seen. get him to explain exactly what that is. the thin film transistor display... [ male announcer ] mmm, maybe not. just show it. customize the dash, give it park assist. the fuel efficiency flower thing. send future guy home, his work here is done. destroy time machine. win some awards, send in brady. that's how you do it. easy. win some awards, send in brady. what that's great. it won't take long, will it? nah. okay. this, won't take long will it?

no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. didn't take very long, did it? this spring, dig in and save. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. dig in and save with vigoro one-quart annuals, four for just ten bucks. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. yes, it is. ♪ even superheroes need superheroes, and some superheroes need complete and balanced meals

with 23 vitamins and minerals. purina dog chow. help keep him strong. dog chow strong. but at xerox we've embraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business. how's that for an encore? i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

up next on "morning joe," tom brokaw and tina brown are here along with the associated professor of english at lehigh university james peters. we will be right back with more "morning joe." ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it.

you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec-d®. powerful relief of nasal congestion and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. zyrtec-d®. at the pharmacy counter. and other allergy symptoms -- all in one pill. before tori was taking her kids to lunch in her new volkswagen... before her passat had passed 30 different inspection tests, and before several thousand tennesseans discovered new jobs on volkswagen drive, their cfo and our banker met for lunch. together, we worked with a team that helped finance construction of the world's first leed platinum auto manufacturing plant. that's the impact of global connections. that's bank of america. si have to look my best on camera. whether i'm telling people about how they could save money on car insurance with geico... yeah, a little bit more of the lime green love yeah... ...or letting them know they can reach geico 24/7 using the latest technology.

go on, slather it all over. don't hold back, go on it's these high-definition televisions i'll tell ya' they show every wrinkle. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ nice shot of the statue of liberty on this beautiful wednesday morning. is that where we are? >> i think it's wednesday. >> oh, gosh. welcome back to "morning joe." it's been the range on this show today is mind numbing. joining us on we have msnbc news

tom brokaw and editor in chief of "the daily beast" tina brown and associate professor at lehigh university, james peterson back on the show. >> lets start with the news. good place to start. >> we divine with the latest from boston. according to federal officials the surviving suspect in last week's marathon bombing says he and his brother were self-radicalized. and that the attack was fueled by their anger toward the u.s. over the wars in iraq and afghanistan. federal authorities now believe the brothers acted alone without foreign ties when they detonated two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line at the boston marathon. the 19-year-old who suffered gunshot wounds is listed in fair condition. officials say he claims the bomb making instructions came from an english language magazine supported by al qaeda's affiliate in yemen. according to the associated press, the older suspect who was

killed by police was heavily influenced by a muslim convert who he befriended in the years before the attack. the report says the alleged bomber was steered toward a strict strain of islam by the person known to the suspect -- to the suspect's familiar only as misha. questions about the fbi's prior contact with the alleged bomber and whether russian authorities raised concerns about the suspect on more than one occasion. >> this is what is on the front of the boston globe. a couple of things out of the story. closed intel briefing yesterday and reportedly senators say russia contacted to the united states several times. you go inside also and they do say that the brothers warned -- a bystander they were coming to new york next. >> well, look. yes. barnicle raised a good question about what russian authorities, hour seriously they saw him and why they didn't act as well. there is clearly something

missed for sure. >> yeah. >> i mean, that goes without saying. >> tom, we just don't know the details. we will over the coming weeks and coming months. so we don't want to jump to conclusions. but, obviously, it's something that a lot of people in intel are going to be looking at very closely. did they have a sufficient warning and should they have gotten these guys? >> well, the reality of this, it's a very complex case, obviously, at a lot of different levels. one is there is no fool-proof safety net in this country. people are going to get in and people already here become radicalized. a man who tried to set off a car bomb in times square had been here a number of years and leading a quintessential american life and he got radicalized and thank god he was idiot and didn't know how to detonate the bomb. >> the ft. hood was more successful and a guy radicalized

here that wanted to blow up the subway. >> that goes on and the war continues to go on in afghanistan and places we don't know about where we've got special forces and other things happening as well. i was at west point yesterday and just telling tina the story i met with the superintendent beforehand and i address a class of 13 the ones coming out now. a lot of people questions for me about the social media and the exchange around the world where people can get information and how they get it. but then the superintendent told me toward the end of our luncheon conversation, he said we have had three graduates from west point killed in the last month in afghanistan. completely off the radar, joe. i mean, that didn't get any attention here whatsoever so far as i know. i pay a lot of attention to it. >> afghanistan has been on the radar too long, tina. we talked about it a lot here. $2 billion spent every week and americans wondering why we can't pay for air traffic controllers but paying $2 billion in afghanistan a week to fight a war americans aren't focused on and a war that should have ended

four years ago. >> in some ways i think this terror attack dramatized how few tile it seems. the home-grown terrorists what are we doing about that? this reminds me of july 11 terror attack in london a few -- how people startled people were when they first heard the tape of the bombers speaking in these accents because they were home-grown boys. there they were in your midst. i think the story is fascinating on so many levels. you got this family more intriguing. we had a fascinating piece on the beast about a woman who took facials from the mother and how she hearses was becoming more and more radicalized. in the beginning she seemed to be a woman justifiadjusted. by the end she was making comments about how americans were to blame for 9/11. she seemed far more interested in everything to do with religion. the whole family was becoming

radicalized and perhaps by their inability to fit in this culture. >> there is also a clip of the mother. let's go ahead. here is what the mother had to say about the two suspects. in boston. >> what happened is a terrible thing but i know my kids have nothing to do with this. i know it. i am mother. i have -- you know, i know my kids. i know my kids. i really -- really, my kids would never get involved into anything like that. >> james, you also had a converted muslim, associated press was reporting yesterday that came in and had an incredibly impactful influence on the older brother. >> i'm wondering and curious what it means to be self-radicalized or what are we talking about specifically? >> outside close friends were helping them because that doesn't sound like they were alone. >> exactly. and i want us to be able to go

through this process in a way that does not demonize the entire religion of islam. don't we trust the newspapers more about how the social media distorted this particular story and when you see it in the paper you can trust in some ways. we couldn't before this. >> hold on. let's say some newspapers really screwed this up. >> some did. >> early on. >> and some cable news networks screwed up. >> some did. >> you have to be able to follow and trust and know that, you know, you're doing your due diligence. we certainly do that at the daily beast. >> i want to make sure we talk about these radical processes and make sure we do so it's typical to the profile of people in this case and not to superimpose over an entire culture and religion and i think news sources got it wrong in some of the ways and social media is at its most awful about this case. >> actually, i think one of the other things is this huge

wall-to-wall bin that gets created and so loud. not like a one story kind of crazed social media impact on everything at one time and it really does become absolutely confusing. >> and it's ugly. >> everybody goes to the extremes on both sides and that is a big part of the problem. for ten years of this war that we have been fighting in afghanistan and pakistan and yemen and in sudan and other part of the world we still have enormous gap between the western values and the islamic faith having any tolerance for the way we live in the valleys that we cherish in this country. the rights of women and the rights of democratic society. so that's been a failure and an attempt to win these wars of trying to find how we all understand each other a lot more. >> unfortunately, a lot of the techniques we are using, mika,

are further radicalizing people in pakistan and yemen, across the world. >> that can be argued as we try to deal with this and i think, you know, there is certain arguments to that as well given who is in power and what party the administration is from. having said that, it's not like the problem is going to go away any time soon. is it a pew poll, alex? i believe 75% of those asked believe that occasional acts of terrorism in the united states will be part of daily life in the future. because it's here. >> and i think we need to underline the fact, mika, that, again, people that work for the fbi, the cia, homeland security, have done an extraordinary job since 9/11 stopping one attack after another and not just stopping in the final stages. stopping in the beginning

stages. our intel agencies who we have bashed for years because that is what we do. they are like offensive linemen in football games, tom. you never notice them until the quarterback has been sacked and the quarterback gets sacked one time in the past ten years, if you want to draw that analogy to the terror attacks. it was a horrific, horrific terrible thing. that said, tom, the intel agencies have done a pried damn remarkable job keeping us safe. >> we were talking about it on "meet the press" sunday and saying this is the most serious attack we have had in 9/11 in the midst. as horrific as it was and the madness of their motivation the fact it could have been worse when you think about. last week, i was in the south doing something about the 50th anniversary of the assassination of john f. kennedy coming up this fall.

i was with andy young. he reminded me in 1962 in birmingham, alabama, i think 50 bombs detonated in that city alone. it was known as bombing ham. >> that's right. >> that was home-grown terror going in our midst of that time. but it did get some attention. >> i find that hard to believe. i mean, that is another world for me. that was before my time. 50 bombs in an american city? yeah, i find that hard to believe. >> that's part of our history, joe. >> i understand. you don't have to tell it me that. i know it's part of our history but it is jarring that 50 bombs set off in an american city. >> the other thing is, joe, andy made the point -- >> let me say hard to believe. tom, we have talked about this a lot because i went to the university of alabama and guess what? it was very integrated campus when i was there. >> birmingham is one of the great cities in the south now. >> it is. >> they completely rebuilt themselves in a lot of ways.

late 1970s i was at the university of alabama. they had an african-american student body president not that many years after the bombs went off. it was birmingham in which the youngsters were killed in a church and raised the conscience of the country. network was coming into play and andy young was saying when the cameras finally arrived in birmingham and dr. king went there and raised the conscience of the country of what we were involved in. >> selma, the bombings in abraham changed everything. >> now we have seen this in boston. our cities with smaller budgets. we have got such a concentration here in new york with ray kelly created this incredible protection in new york what he has built with bloomberg. will we announce the other cities more and more attacked? there is more vulnerability in cities which have less budget to spanned from law enforcement. >> should we be right haesigned

fact other terror attacks but other things to do in terms of foreign policy and interventions making overseas. >> let's look at that. senate putting pressure on the white house to define the administration's policy. for using targeted drone strikes. democratic senator dick durbin listed six questions yet to be answered by the administration concerning the rights of due process for americans overseas who are targets. the issue of the limits of federal power united republicans and democrats alike. senator al franken said you know you're in strange territory when senator cruz and i have the same questions. noticeably absent from the hearing was anyone from the obama administration. senator durbin said he was disappointed they declined to provide a witness and senator rand paul who last month spent 13 hours on the senate floor

filibustering is raising eyebrows saying he would support drone strikes on american citizens given the right circumstances? >> i've never argued against any technology being used when you have an eminent threat, active crime on. someone comes out of the liquor store and $50 in cash. i don't care if a drone or policeman kills him but it's different if they want to come fly over your hot tub or your yard because they want to do surveillance on everyone and they want to watch your activity. >> what just happened there? >> i got to say it's somebody that supported the filibuster i have no idea what just happened there. >> he doesn't understand due process. >> he's fine with -- he just said he was fine with a drone strike against someone who

robbed a liquor store and had 50 dollars in their pocket. >> senator paul later clarify i said his comments releasing a statement that reads in part, quote, armed drones should not be used in normal crime situations. >> not in his backyard while he is washing his car. >> where did that come from? >> it continues. only may be considered in extraordinary lethal situations where there is an ongoing imminent threat. >> he is walking back on what he said. this is the problem with the drones. we don't live in a perfect world and the collateral damage from drone strikes is something we can't measure the ways in which that is going to af affect us going forward. imagine if this technology gets into the hands of our so-called enemies? for me, we have to end drone

strikes right now. because we have no way of america the ways in which it impacts our future and the ways in which it sort of undermines the sort of stature of the united states. i know the military arguments. >> i disagree with that. the drones have been extraordinarily effective especially as intel gathering devices in part of the world and when they have been effective. the incidents of drone strikes going awry is relatively small. inconsequence wall when it happens no question about that. when you read about the general's book when it tracks down the bad guys and keeps track of them and the shichpmen of arms and effective tool and keeps people from on the ground going in there. >> i come from a military family so i appreciate the way in which drones save lives with military personnel. the surveillance piece is a different conversation but the mortality rates and killing drones i think are a little bit

scarier. >> the radicalization piece d -- >> light just went out. look at this! >> wow. >> very dramatic. >> what is going on? >> we are on the dark side of the moon. that is a tease. i know we are teasing, pat. but i was telling you -- >> nice you see the real me. >> alex, that would allow us to let people know that we didn't just go to black. >> thank god. >> james peterson, thank you. tom and tina, stick around. we will keep talking more. senator pat toomey is here with us. he says the lights are working well in the capitol and saying the white house is playing politics with our nation's air safety and he joins us next and we will talk about that. later, the worst first day on the snjob. >> [ bleep ]. >> good evening. >> you ask. we deliver. a.j. clemente will be here on the set. tom brokaw, why don't you stick around and give him some pointers from the best in the business.

we will be right back. for those nights when it's more than a bad dream, be ready. for the times you need to double-check the temperature on the thermometer, be ready. for high fever, nothing works faster or lasts longer. be ready with children's motrin. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro.

yes, you could. what that's great. it won't take long, will it? nah. okay. this, won't take long will it? no, not at all. how many of these can we do on our budget? more than you think. didn't take very long, did it? this spring, dig in and save. that's nice. post it. already did. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. dig in and save with vigoro one-quart annuals,

♪ this can be prevented, though, phil. congress needs to take action in the sequester and put people back to work, put our control -- lift the sequester by -- by congress changing the law. >> should people be worried if they are flying about safety being compromised? >> absolutely not, phil. we never compromise safety. planes will be guided in and out of airports safety. safely. safety will always be our number one priority. >> from capitol hill, republican senator from pennsylvania, senator pat toomey. he of course, was in the news last week for his extraordinarily courageous position on background check and to extraordinarily and may be more extraordinary by the fact that in your state of pennsylvania, pat toomey, 5% of pennsylvanians opposed your

position. i, of course, kid. it's surreal to us, pat, and we are going to talk about the travel issue in a second. it is surreal to us. 91% of gun owners in virginia support background checks. 80% of texans support a background check on all gun purchases. you look at these polls. these polls are actually more sweeping than the legislation that you and joe manchin did. 84% in arkansas. background checks on all gun buyers, all gun buyers. again, more comprehensive than your bill. montana 79%. north dakota 94%. texas 80%. in south carolina, 87%. pat, before be go we go on and about travel, i know that's why you came on today, please tell us why the disconnect and will we see another vote in this session of congress on background checks?

>> well, joe, you suggested in pennsylvania. i haven't seen actual numbers but you suggested 95% supported, 5% oppose. i would suggest that we heard from the 5% who oppose several times from each one of them. it was a much more vocal and much more passiona expression from that camp. in 1989 they supported background checks and republicans overwhelmlying voted for it including myself on the house floor and now everybody's hair is on fire about it and i think it's the poliarization. >> supported bans on assault weapons and so about ronald reagan. it's pretty remarkable how the

debate has changed. >> and the background checks specifically -- see, i would argue that is not even a form of gun control. >> it is not. >> it does not restrict any law abiding citizens this justice selis a scalia wrote that in the heller decision. i'm disappointed with the way it turned out. >> do we have another vote? do you think there could be another vote? you were rushed. you were rushed. i think there was a false deadline put in place. do you think we have a chance before the end of the year to have another vote on this? >> you know, there is always a chance, joe. one of the things that certainly set us back is that the early leaks about potential deal led to gross misaccurate characterizations of the legislation. it's hard to make a sell when you're in that environment so maybe is there still a chance. >> we will get to airports, i

promise you. mike barnicle has a quick question. >> senator, what impact, if any, do you think it would have on the revival of this bill in the senate when and if it is revealed that the two people involved in putting together the marathon day bombings in boston obtained their weapons through the internet or through a gun show? because both of them, neither of them were licensed in cambridge, massachusetts. >> so, in other words, if they were able to purchase them through a legal mechanism where a background check wasn't required? look. i think it would certainly help to underscore the importance of doing this. i think the most important thing, frankly, is members of congress need to hear from people and the people who support these background checks need to be as vocal as those who don't. >> pat, you make an absolute great point because i've had people ask me what happened there? and i said, well, you had senators who received ten calls

against the 90% for every one call in support of the 90%. and you say that. by the way, i wasn't -- what you did actually was very courageous and i salute you for that. i was just underscoring the point that all of these senators that were afraid to follow you live in states where they ignored the overwhelming majority of their voters in favor of -- >> like max baucus. i just don't get it. and kelly ayotte. it applies to both sides. go ahead, tom. i don't get it. >> i've been trying to -- senator, i've been trying to sort out the max baucus vote because i was surprised by that pole quite honestly, that showed 90% of montanans were in favor of background checks and trying deal with why he made the decision to vote against background checks. you know his statement was my job is to make sure that montanans are heard in this debate and montanans have told me loud and clear they are overwhelmingly opposed to new

gun control laws and i will not support anything that enfringes on the second amendment rights of special law abiding montanans. how do you respond to him when he says that? >> i guess i just wish he would maybe revisit the bill that we actually wrote because it really does not enfringe on any law abiding citizens rights whatsoever and if it had, i wouldn't have supported it. trying to make it harder for people who have no legal right to have a weapon, to obtain it, that's perfect consistent with the constitution and, frankly, common sense. >> vocal issue again is what you said. >> as you said, justice scalia agreed in 2008 in heller. let's turn to this airport dust-up and i've always saluted you as a true conservative. you didn't bend with the wind like most republicans did when george w. bush was president. you remained a fiscal conservative. so, i guess, you probably would agree with me that with a 3.54

trillion budget this year, i'm not buying that the administration and congress can't find enough money to keep our air traffic control towers staffed. >> joe, this is a complete no-brainer. we have a federal government that has more than doubled in size more than 100% growth in spending the last 12 years and now we are told we can't trim 2.5% of that. here is what i think is a little known fact that is pretty compelling about why the administration is clearly manufacturing a crisis for political gain. take a look at the faa budget. if the sqest goes through and stays in place the faa will have more money to spend in 2013 than what the president asked for in his budget submission. >> hold on. hold on. stop. because sometimes there are things that are said that need to be repeated. >> okay. >> i want you -- >> really? >> let's have three seconds of silence. then i want you to repeat that

again. 1-2-3, go. >> yeah. if the sequester goes into effect and stays into effect and the savings are achieved, the faa, for this year, will have more money to spend than what the president asked for in his budget submission. i think that tells you all you need to know. >> pat, how many times have you and i heard people in the media and on both sides, depending on what committee they are on, screaming about massive spending cuts and how locust we are going to descend from the skies and eat flesh off of our bones? and we find out later that they have more money this year to spend than they had last year? >> but this is why they are doing this. precisely because the president, frankly, many in his administration, were so shrill about this leading up to the sequester. now they feel like they better make it painful or else they look pretty foolish having predicted the dire consequences. they backed themselves into a bad position where what they should have done is said, okay,

let's work with congress and find the duplication, the ways and excess and cut the low priority items and can easily make due with the money that is left over. >> pat, are you saying that even if the sequestration goes through, the president will have more money to spend than he even asked for in his own budget? i'd like to repeat it a third. can you believe that, mika? >> if the faa drg that is true. that is is true. >> can you believe that? >> huh-uh. >> this is the scam that governments on local, state, and national levels run all the time and not to personalize this. i remember my first time, tom, i got into politics, pensacola, the city of pensacola was trying to raise taxes, property taxes 65% so i got involved in the tax revolt and we were told that tumble weeds would roll through downtown pensacola and everybody would be fired and everybody's children would be attacked in their front yards and houses would burn down.

guess what? we killed the property tax increase and next week eight city managers get a 45% raise in their salary! this is why americans are so cynical when politicians talk about, oh, give us more. they are like heroin addicts. give us more money than we had last year, or we are all going to die. we don't believe it any more. >> i don't have to tell you or joe or mike and we have all been covering politics a long time. put it out there and try to terrify people is the worst tactic. >> this is just really extremely irresponsible, though, to implement these savings, these modest savings in the most disruptive way possible when there are so many alternatives. you know, the faa operates a fleet of 26 jets and spend $143 million a year on that. they have $500,000 in consultants they pay. the air traffic controllers are less than a third of all the employees of the faa. if some people need it to be

furloughed, shouldn't it be the nonessential employees? this could be managed. it really could. the president is choosing to make it disruptive. >> very few times, mike barnicle, i've said this and excited on election night when somebody gets elected and pat toomey got elected senator i was cheering for him the first time he ran and he almost beat arlen specter. when he got elected, i said, boy, we node a guy like that in pennsylvania. he is doing a great job. >> at some point i want to find out the $500,000 of consultants that the ffa use and do they work on lost luggage and long lines? we have got to get to that. >> pat, barnicle wants to know because he want to start a consulting firm. >> probably pretty lucrative. >> i bet it is. senator pat toomey, thank you very much and thank you for being here. tina brown, what is coming up today on "the daily beast"? >> collier was somebody in boston who might not have died if the fbi had actually

identified the picture. they should have done it. they should have identified that they had interviewed that point when they saw the picture. he is somebody who could have been saved by that and they ask the question he why didn't they? >> thank you, tina. look for that ahead. ahead, how one of america's greatest beer makers are helping the victims of the boston bombings. sam adams founder jim cook joins us straight ahead. we will be right back. ♪ so i five god it's good to be alive ♪ meet the 5-passenger ford c-mc-max one. c-max two. that's a super fuel- efficient hybrid for me. and a long range plug-in hybrid for you. now, let's review. introducing the ford c-max hybrid and

the ford c-max energi plug-in hybrid. say hi to the c-max hybrids. humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you

that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business. ever heard of a lil' something called weight watchers online? ♪ i was adding on pounds eating my feelings ♪ ♪ but weight watchers saved my behind ♪ ♪ crash, bam, alakazam ♪ i lost my weight online ♪ now i'm schooled in all the tools, the plan's a snap ♪ ♪ there's a really cool app, can't be beat! ♪ ♪ this thing's sweet! ♪ aaaaaaaah ♪ crash! bam! ♪ i heart weight watchers online! ♪ [ female announcer ] join for free. and check out our risk-free guarantee.

♪ up next on "morning joe," founder and ceo of the black stone group stephen schwartzman joins us and we will ask him why he wants america's future leaders to look to china. more "morning joe" when we come back. ♪ [ lane ] do you ever feel like you're growing old

waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. you'll see younger looking skin in just one week. one week? that's just my speed. rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots rapid tone repair. from neutrogena®. the act of soaring across an ocean in a three-hundred-ton rocket doesn't raise as much as an eyebrow for these veterans of the sky.

however, seeing this little beauty over international waters is enough to bring a traveler to tears. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving. i don'without goingcisions to angie's list first. you'll find reviews on home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. with angie's list, i know who to call, and i know the results will be fantastic. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. 42 past the hour. welcome back to "morning joe." according to "the new york times" it's one of the biggest single gifts for education in the entire world. over the weekend, steven

schwarzman, founders and chairman and ceo of blackstone group announced his plans to create 300 million scholarship for study in china and he is with us now along with cnbc brian shactman joining the table. wow. >> i was looking at the times story this weekend. a great story in "the new york times." you can't buy those as you know. >> no. >> but you got one. >> you did. >> and you know what? i was reading it. i was thinking there's so many things we do that sort of blow away with the wind and when we die, they are gone. i was reading this and saying this is something people will be influenced by a hundred years from now. . tell us what you've done in china. remarkable. >> what we have tried to do is bring 200 students of the rhodes scholar quality type over to china for one year to learn about china and they are going to get a pretty unique experience. they are going to meet the leaders of the country. they are going to be able to travel around to several different cities. they are going to get a mentor

from the community. so, for example, if they were studying law they would get the head of the largest law firm in beijing to adopt them and see how a law firm work and meet their families and so forth. plus, we are going to have pretty robust program designed by both western academics as well as the professors. >> you got the idea this was west meets east with this program that you're starting. it's interesting, though, as the times reported, rhodes wanted everybody in the british empire to come to great britain and study. you now have seen the paradigm shift that people have been seeinging coming for 30 years now. you started it in china. why in china instead of boston or los angeles? >> i think the economic center of the world is clearly moving to asia. you have the second largest country in the world, china, the

third largest, japan. and you can see that the trend is somewhat inexorable. one of the reasons for this in terms of doing a major program is that if china continues growing at double or triple the rate of the western countries and creating 10 million jobs a year, whereas, there is virtually no job creation in europe and very anemic job creation, it's inevitable that people are going to start getting frustrated in the west. >> since we discussed this on the phone a geks few weeks ago i've heard them saying i can't come up to your event because i'm going to chendo. >> i think as an extraordinary generous step but steven always has his eye on the bottom line and on the foreign line as well. steven, what strikes me about this is that it represents the

new world in which we are living. not just about the rise of asia but more and more borders and boundaries don't mean very much and people can move across these borders. we know about people from china getting education hooe. i've been saying to people in this country if you're frustrated in the job search here maybe you ought to think about going to asia or southeast asia or the middle east where a desperate need for middle managers and a lot of the things they are doing. and this is a huge jump-start for young people and so congratulations to you and i do think that is reflection of the new realities of the world in which we are now living in which we can no longer be fortress america and economically and other ways. >> there are eight chinese students coming to the united states for every one that goes to china. in the world we are living in, as you say, tom, it's not good

enough just to be in your home country. you've got to learn what is going on globally. and in terms of geo political power, economic power, it seems pretty clear at this point that china will be that -- that place for the balance of this century at least. >> when is hilton going public? no, i'm sorry. how was it received there? it's a very difficult culture to figure out. are they honored by this? how are had he receivithey rece there? >> it actually was stunning and i'm very hard to stun but we had a announcement in the great hall of people and the president of china wrote an endorsement letter that was more than a letter. it was more than an explanation of their educational policy, need for educational reform, how the schwarzman scholar program

was important to that and why it was important to u.s./china relations which they very much wanted to put on a good footing. and it was his first major pronouncement and president obama, at the same time, wrote a letter and john kerry did a video, as did henry kissinger. so it was sort of in american ink meeting, china ink. and the chinese really understood that and it was the featured item on their national news. i think it was like six or seven minutes at the top of every hour on every tv station. as well as in print. so it was quite clear that the government really favors this and looks at it as a validation in a way. you know, they would have to speak for themselves of a certain china coming of age. >> a real paradigm shift. congratulations. >> founder and chairman and ceo of the blackstone group, steven

schwarzman. thank you so much. congratulations on everything. come back. great to have you on finally. up next, aid to the boston bombing victims. we will talk to a man a symbol of the northeast. founder and chairman of the boston beer maker, the makers of sam adams, jim koch will join us next. more "morning joe" in a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance...

with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro. before the three- and four-star ratings... before local farmers and employees

became secret ingredients... before rock star chefs were playing to packed houses every night... two restaurateurs sat down with our banker and transformed some chicago neighborhoods into culinary meccas. that's the power of connecting a vision into a recipe for success. that's bank of america.

20 years ago, 25 years ago, longer than that. >> got a little beer factory in jamaica says you should pay attention, we're going to be good. right, jim. he'll check into a mental institution, take care of himself later in the day. now, all of these years later, sam adams, an incredible product. talk about what you're doing to promote loans to small businesses to get them going as well. >> as you know, i started sam adams as a small business. we were the smallest brewfully america in 1984 when i started it and you know, we've been able to grow now 1% of the u.s. peer market, so i'm proud of that and as part of that success, we are

engaged in a program called sam adams, brew iing the american dream, which makes loans to the very small businesses that are basically shut out of the lending system, then provides coaching and counseling so they can use the loan, grow their business, create jobs, succeed. >> what kind of businesses? >> we are in the businesses that we know because it's very high touch. we're coaching, food, beverage, hospitality and other craft breweries. we've made loans to about a dozen other craft breweries to help them grow. >> obviously in your backyard, we had a horrible tragedy a week ago. the one fund is $20 million strong and so on. what are you doing specifically to help out what's going on in boston? >> we were a sponsor of the boston marathon and had about 70 people, our own people, either running in it or helping at the finish line. we held our breath, but luckily,

no one was hurt. everybody got home safely and we made a special beer for the boston marathon called sam adams 26.2 brew and we're donating all of the profits from that beer to help the victims of the boston massacre and all the proceeds from our tour center at our brewery in boston, so people can come to the brewery and donate as well. >> i just want to say that having a beer on my breakfast table is like time travel for me. there i am. and i won't be going to class for the rest of the day. that's the end of it. craft beer. small, local, breweries in new england and across the country now, are taking hold. is this going to stick? >> i am absolutely convinced it will. when i started 29 years ago,

there were no craft breweries. even good beer drinkers like mike here, were a little skeptical, but today, there's 2500 of us. it's still quite small, but that means we have room to grow and today, americans are appreciating good beer and we're creating a beer culture in the u.s. in the same way that a wine culture grew up 25 years ago. >> that's great. >> i got to tell you, even you know, the success of the company, but fwifing back to smaller companies through the lending program, thanks to you. >> cheers. >> thanks so much. >> breakfast of champions. >> for more information on brewing the american dream program, visit btad.com. thanks so much. >> bars are closed. >> coming up next, we have the very latest on the bombing investigation in boston.

plus, what the retirement of the top senate democrat means for the balance of power in 2014 and beyond. "morning joe" will be right back. ♪ ♪ i've got the power people lose 5x more weight following the weight watchers approach than trying on their own. you can too. ♪ ♪ you've got the power

♪ ♪ oh, yeah ♪ get the power the new weight watchers 360 program. ♪ whoo! join for free and check out the new risk free guarantee today. because it works. the blissful pause. just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery. the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself.

well, almost. the sweet reward. making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda® no calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda® makes the moment yours™. but at xerox we've embraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore? with xerox, you're ready for real business.

good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. 5:00 a.m. on the west coast and you know what? >> stay in bed. >> no, it's time. it's time to wake up. >> fetal position.

covers over your head. >> take a live look at new york city and see how awake we are. we have mike barnacle, howard dean in washington. >> this, this i'm thinking about getting into the twitter. >> oh, are you. >> the kids are in the twitter, but really, sometimes, things go bad on the twitter and yesterday, i'm looking at the "usa today." and wow. so, what happened yesterday, willie? what was going on? >> associated press' twitter account is hacked. something terrible is written about the president that we don't even need to repeat and the automatic functions at the new york stock exchange, instantly, the dow dropped 145 points on this false report. the hack of the associated press' twitter account, which is a little bit scary to think that the news organization's twitter account is hacked, it instantly

plunges the dow 150 points. >> okay. we'll get to that. >> another reason not to invest in the stock market. >> not only that, but all of these things, have you ever heard of the facebook? all of these things. >> twitter and facebook. >> yes, my son, tells me you know, the facebook, i sit and listen to the rk fire and then i go look at the facebook and the twitter and i'm up with the kids. >> it was originally called the facebook. in the harvard dorm room, then they shortened it. >> that's what i did when joey's friends would come over. boy, i love the green day. weezer. he's great. >> senior fellow at demoos, bob herbert and former chairman of the democrat national committee,

howard dean. see, i'm glad i did that. how you doing, howard? it's good to have you on board. >> i'm good. it's nice to be back, even though it is at some ungodly hour, but it's going to be 75 e degrees in washington today. >> it was 39 degrees yesterday afternoon. there's something seriously wrong with that. supposed to be 70 here today. >> don't tell me that. we begin with the latest from boston where according to federal officials, the surviving suspect says he and his brother were self-radicalized and that the attack was fueled by their attack towards the u.s. over the wars in iraq and afghanistan. federal authorities believe dzhokhar tsarnaev and his older brother acted alone when they detonated two pressure cooker bombs. the 19-year-old who suffered gun shot wounds, is currently listed in fair condition. officials say he claims the bomb

making instructions came from an english language magazine supported by al-qaeda's affiliate in yemen. the older suspect who was killed by police, was heavily influenced by a muslim convert whom he befriended in the years before the attack. the report says the alleged bomber was steered toward a strict strain of islam by the person known to the family as misha. there are also questions about the fbi's prior contact with the alleged bomber and whether russian authorities raised concerns about the suspect on more than one occasion. the suspect's mother refuses to believe her sons were responsible for last monday's bombing. >> what happened is a terrible thing, but i know that my kids had nothing to do with this. i know it. i'm mother. i have -- you know, i know my kids. i know my kids. my kids would never get involved into anything like that.

>> on capitol hill, janet napolitano was questioned over her department's knowledge of the older brother's overseas travel, an issue that's now factoring into the debate over immigration reform. >> was your department aware of his travels to russia and if you weren't, the reason? >> yes. the system pinged when he was leaving the united states. by the time he returned, all investigations, the matter had been closed. >> was it true that his identity document did not match his airline ticket and if so, why did tsa miss the discrepancy? >> there was. the bill will help with this because it requires that passports be electronically readable as opposed to be manually input. it really does a good job of getting human error out of process. >> so, what do you think, mika?

>> they misseded it, clearly, and i think that there's obviously ultimately no excuse, but it's incredibly hard. it's terrible. what's happened and just listening to that mother is chilling. >> yeah. so, they missed it. and but mike reminds me of when you were talking to one of the top intel guys in america a few years ago and he said if you saw every day what i see every day, you would never sleep at night. and we don't know an awful lot about what's happened quite yet. maybe there will be a file that you know, landed on the fbi director's desk that says look out for these two chechnyan guys. we don't know what's coming down

the pipe, but we've got to be very careful early on to say hey, you guys missed this and you know. democrats do it to republican presidents and republicans to it do democratic presidents. there's a lot of intel coming in. >> the key thing is still so much more that we don't know than what we do know. this phenomenon to me has worked many a times. it raises the question how many warnings do the fbi get about various people from other countries into the fbi about intels? >> i think it's overwhelming. i criticized law enforcement when i thought it was appropriate over the years, but stopping terror in a free society, you're never going to be able to do it completely and they are inundated with tips and false leads and that sort of thing. it seems to me that every since september 11th, they've done a

pretty good job of keeping the country safe. and you have to have an investigation, got to find out what went awry, but i would be reluctant to rush to judgment and cast blame here. >> moving on. democrats face a new hurdle in their bid to keep control of the senate in 2014. max baucus says he will not seek a seventh term in office. he has served in washington for more than 40 years and has nearly $5 million in campaign cash on hand. a powerful voice on tax issues, the 71-year-old has at times, clashed with fellow democrats for opposing his own party's initiatives. just one of four democrats who voted last week against expanded background checks for gun sales. there are now six senate democrats who will not be running for re-election next year, most of whom represent political seats.

those in minnesota are looking to brian schweitzer as their best chance for holding on to baucus' seat. howard dean, what do you make of schweitzer as the possibility of holding on to that seat? >> i predicted this a week ago on "morning joe." here's the problem. baucus, i think, is fair charity bly described as a centrist democrat. even though he's not that liberal, he really is a pop list. he's been out front on a lot of issues that progressives care about. even in places like minnesota, the activists matter a lot. the last poll showed schweitzer with a 19-point lead in a primary. it is just a hill that was too far to climb. in amount of money is going to nax kind of a problem, especially with a guy who's got

100% name recognition. >> so, let's move on to the general election. there's a problem that democrats face in states like montana. >> not like montana, joe. this one, again, brian schweitzer is 100% name recognition. great numbers. i still think this is a democratic seat. i do worry about some of the other ones. michigan will be tough, but i think this one is in good shape. >> this is a state though. my bigger point is obviously progressives on the coast would like max baucus, who have been more liberal, but as the state that mitt romney carried by 20 percentage points. it's sort of reverse of what we've been talk iing about as f as is republican party goes. >> interesting state though. bill clinton won it. the unions are strong there. it's a western state. it's very libertarian. but it's also has a long history

of progressiveness. they had a campaign finance level which prevented corporations from giving money. they've had it for 100 years until the support threw it out last year. montana's a very complicated state. a very interesting state and i do not think it is a deep, red state like utah is. >> howard, why are so many democrats retiring? six democrats in the senate. why? >> well, most of it's age. a lot of them have been there for a long time and there does come a time when you don't want to be carried out with your boots on. some people do. but it gets harder and harder. as we were looking at the clip earlier of chuck grassley in the hearing, some age, put those questions in front of them and read them. i guess it gets to the point at some point where you want to spend your time doing something else.

>> you both know max baucus. in fact, he wasser here cently. if he knows he's leaving, why would he vote no on background checks? >> i don't think he knew he was leaving. he has a $5 million war chest. senator levin for example didn't raise much money. you could telegraph that he wasn't going to run again. i think max baucus had a tough moment. he voted what he thought was going to help him in the general election and the primary, you have a whole different set of issues. >> coming up, david rode is out with his new book, "beyond war." he joins us straight ahead. >> that guy's great and that's the type of show we have. we raise the bar. try to raise the level of discussion we're very proud of. >> but first, this. >> your news leader in high definition. >> [ bleep ]. >> good evening -- >> north dakota's a.j. clement joins us on to to explain what

it's like to [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. >> what the [ bleep ]. >> but first, here's bill karins with the [ bleep ] forecast. bill? >> come on, you know. let's have a little class on the show, a.j. you did it right. can you help me with the norfolk forecast, by the way. >> cold and snow on the ground. >> let's get to where the weather is today. good news for the east coast and also, by the way in the northern plains, i have some good news. here's what we're looking at. winter's firm grip over the middle of the country. it's been an april of unbelievable snow and cold from denver through minneapolis and look at the temperatures this morning. that is way, way cold by dallas standards. that 37 at this hour. 27 in denver. now, the east coast is warming up by the way. there's a cold front that slices through the ohio valley, so bring your umbrella from indiana back through ohio and kentucky

and some portions of tennessee including nashville and look at the forecast today. this is what we've been waiting for. the wind shift. warm air shoots up the east coast, so that's going to be beautiful. it's about time. 74 in new york today and the cold air remains there in the northern plains, but there is some good news. minneapolis, by the weekend, temperatures in the mid-70s, melting the snow finally as you can get into the good news of spring, also. leave you with this shot of the white house. beautiful day in d.c. lunch outdoors if you can get away with it. you're watching "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] if she keeps serving up sneezes... [ sneezing ] she may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air.

to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock? oh, you guys! and with double miles you can actually use, you never miss the fun. beard growing contest and go! ♪ i win! what's in your wallet?

governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro.

good evening live from the berlin wall. >> the challenger with a schoolteacher and six astronauts on board was consumed by a giant fire ball explosion less than two minutes after it was launched into the bright blue florida skies. >> news of the cease fire and iraq's acceptance of many of the terms spread slowly here in kuwait because the communications are so hit and miss. >> your news leader in high definition. >> [ bleep ]. >> good evening. you may have seen our news -- and he'll be joining the weekend news team as my coanchor. >> well -- >> there are ways to do news. former north dakota news anchor

and tom brokaw. yes, i think it's appropriate that you're here, tom. >> before i get to the berlin wall, kuwait, all those international hot spots, i was where you are. i made a huge gaffe in omaha. it wasn't quite as explicit as yours was by any means. on the other hand, it was confined to omaha because there was no social media, it was dealt with by the local station. they made me come in and kind of gave me a dressing down, but i got to go on with my life. you're the victim of a hot mike and nothing goes unremarked upon in our current society. suddenly you go from being a rookie anchor in bismarck to somebody sitting on "morning joe." >> you've come to the right place. >> tom gave me the same talk. >> there was an f bomb you dropped, but it seemed to work for you. >> every microphone is hot.

>> so, you've seen this clip more today than you have since this happened because after this happened, you went home and crawled under your bed in a fetal position. >> that's exactly what i did. i think i watched it twice. i think i've seen it 20 times today and each time, it's you know, more heartbreaking and you've got to be able to laugh at yourself. >> you definitely need to laugh because it's funny at this point, but what was the, was it nerves? your first moment on the air, that's what i felt when i was watchi ining it. >> the video makes it look like that. it was a perfect storm of so much and me looking down, we came on 30 seconds early. no audio, no ifb. the message was counting down, but the audio was turned down -- >> welcome to the television business. >> the first day i was at msnbc now ten years ago, somebody came

up to me and said, the most important guy here, scarborough, the sound guy. what? the most important guy here, the sound guy. because he or she, if they don't take care of you, you don't have a job. >> i've been home for 20 years. sitting in the cellar without the sound people taking care. >> i assume your life flashed before your eyes. you do realize as tom indicated, you will work again, correct? >> the day it happened, i didn't even realize i said it on air. the third break, my news director comes this and says you have to apologize and everybody says, for what? and you know, i know now that i'm going to be able to work, but that day, like he said, i literally went home, called my

mom and that was it. >> have you ever heard of this program way too early? it's on at 5:30 a.m., 5:30 to 6:00. >> he could help us out there. >> so, what did your mother say? >> not much. i was doing most of the talking. but now, she's being very supportive. i'm sorry to everybody and i'm mostly sorry to her. she didn't raise me that way, to even speak like that. >> so a shot at redemption. let's have you read the new script here and try not to curse. i'll cue you. >> after holdinging two separate dinners, sorry. with senator over the past few weeks, last night, president obama hosted a bipartisan group of female senators at the white house. >> keep going. >> okay. i don't have my glasses on. >> he doesn't have his glasses on.

>> all good. >> are we doing a try out here, mika? >> i have my contacts, but i'm blind. >> so, you didn't know until the third break that something had gone terribly wrong, which if you saw "anchorman," he got through the whole show. >> i got tweets saying cameo for anchorman 2. i definitely can relate. obviously, he said it on purpose. i did as well, but i guess i'm really sorry. >> all right, a.j., thank you so much. >> we greatly -- and by the way, you get tom brokaw. >> i didn't even know. >> yeah. unbelievable. >> very quickly, 15-year-old newscaster on a radio station after basketball practice, south dakota, governor joe walsh

addressed the convention of veterans of foreign whores. wars. it's happened to everybody. >> there are tapes that if they don't -- >> i did that. >> don't refer to the state. they'll find it. >> okay, that's true. >> you said there's some tapes of you that would finish your career. >> oh, yeah. i can't say it. but yeah. we all have our moments. the first one though is always the most just the most -- >> so crushing. >> soul crushing. >> your life passes before your eyes. >> it does. one time you get rewarded. good to have you on. >> thank you so much. still ahead, we've got allen alda. he joins us to discus niz new project and his relationship with the islamic world as well as anybody. david rohde joins us in just a moment. ♪ i've got the power

this time around it's gonna be different. this time around you're finally gonna lose the weight. like i did. on weight watchers. like she did. ♪ she got the power and she did. ♪ you've got the power this time around it's gonna be different. cause people lose 5x more weight following the weight watchers approach than trying on their own. and you can too. the new weight watchers 360 program. join for free and check out the new risk free guarantee today. because it works.

into brand-new apartments... before rooftops were transformed into electrical generators... before an abandoned lot in brooklyn could become a vibrant neighborhood... and before hannah seliem could close her very first door to her very first bedroom... an architect, a developer, and our commercial banker, met over lunch and shared a vision. that's the power of connecting an idea to a community. that's bank of america.

here with us now, two-time foreign affairs winner, david rohde. he's the author of the new book "beyond war."

>> you said the most important thing we can do in the new middle east is to strengthen moderates and i am reminded of a birthday cake shaped like a key, a bible and messages of good will and 1986 delivered from ronald reagan through bud mcfarlain looking for these ever elusive moderates in iran. >> there was a green revolution in iran. hundreds of thousands of people on the streets and those cakes went to the atole la ko mainy. we're going to have to use force at times to deal with them. i thought the law enforcement performance in boston was great, but there's this great mass of people out there. 1.6 billion muslims and what they tell me is that they want to be muslim. they're proud of their faith, but they want to be modern and are looking for a third way. they don't want to be dictated to by american soldiers with

guns. >> what we found in 2009 is that iran in its own way is deeply divided as america where you have half of the country that wanted all the protesters killed and the other half that wanted the protesters enabled. that's one of the things so surprising as we see not only the green revolution, but the arab spring, that these are countries deeply divided. >> they are and i see thit as ts epic struggle between conservatives. some are quite violent and these more liberal, sort of secular muslims. you see it in cairo all the time. the protests against the brotherhood and this really matters to us. for decades, the winner is going to control the culture of that region, the politics. it's important. >> and now fascinating, in egypt, you have the muslim brotherhood, the outside. for years under mubarak, ideaized. they get into power, they overreach and have completely

damaged their brand. >> and how to deal with them. for the administration, especially. >> i think one smart thing the administration has done is you let these guys rule. these islamists, they're going to be crazy, they've done a terrible job. the secret is is that osama bin laden had not secret plan for creating jobs and delivering justice in these countries and most people want a good job, safe streets for their kids. >> the muslim brother hood has done more to hurt than the united states president ever could. >> exactly. that's why you have some calls, we should back another military dicta dictator. the key is they've got to hold elections and sort of work the process through, but it's this epic struggle. people look at the middle east and see chaos. it's a high stakes battle between moderates and conservatives. >> you know, i had never thought about it until it was brought up this week, the psychological damage to the general population

in terms of drones. i hadn't even thought about it. the constant fear of this presence over your head. what negative long-term damage to their viewpoint of the united states or any other group that uses them does that have? >> i think it has a huge impact. we have to use drones. there's terrible guys in the tribal areas of pakistan. that's where i was held captive. but there's economic ways to interact with the region. that's sort of my focus. when we just carry out these strikes, we pretend they're secret and they're not. and it sort of plays into their hands and i think it's a huge mistake. this administration has paid more attention to drone strikes than it has to kind of getting these economy's going. have you heard the term economic state craft before? hillary clinton announced it as this new dogma of foreign policy in 2011. said it was the heart of american foreign policy. it's a great idea.

i think they're right in the idea is economic state craft, jobs at home, aboard, jobs in the middle east. they didn't implement. part of it's congress, but again, i hear from people on the hill, they didn't talk to them. she proposed this $5 million incentive fund, but wouldn't give congress any details about how they're going to spend it. dead on arrival. john kerry proposed it last week. we'll see if he has more luck. >> so, what do we do in a place like syria where we were -- the fact in the fall that 20,000 have been killed. now, we're bemoaning the fact that 25,000 have been killed. if this had happened in europe, we'd be there. >> i was in bosnia -- >> kosovo. the killings never reached that level. and yet, we stormed in and stayed there for a very long time. the middle east in this case, we're staying out of there. and perhaps we need to stay out of there, but you know the books

and the articles and the essays that are going to be written a decade from now about the blood on the hands of barack obama and congress. >> i think we need to think of new ways to act in the region and the theme is to work through local allies and through proxies. >> so, what do we do in syria? >> arm the rebels. they were sort of half arming them. we were blocking any aircraft missiles from going in. but give them sophisticated anti tack weapons to eliminate the huge regime that assad has. in bosnia, we ended up arm iing the muslims and croats. they won on the ground and that's what created the peace. it's ugly, but the stalemate isn't going to solve it. but think outside the box. don't send american troops into syria. but arm locals that support us

or seem somewhat aligned with us. >> what did you learn in your seventh months being held captive by the taliban? >> i guess the ideology. i'm from the boston area and from new england and we're all devastated by it. it's this crazy conspiracy theory. the younger brother talked about defending islam. mike gar is convinced there was this conspiresy to obliterate islam. the good news i think is that al-qaeda wanted the roughly 2.5 millions muslim americans to radicalize. they've largely failed. there was ft. hood, now, there's boston. but again, most muslim americans are sort of horrified by this. and the jihadist want us to blame muslims for the attacks. we've got to again use force, law enforcement against the extremists, the ones who fall for these crazy ideas.

in the u.s. and in the region disagree with these guys. >> oh, sure. >> the book is "beyond war." absolutely fascinating. >> and read the book despite the fact that poor david has only one two pulitzer prizes. seriously? you can't do any better than that? when are you going o get to number three? sfwl my mother asked me the same question. >> see, your parents are as crazy as mine. you need to read this book. david, thank you so much for being here. >> come back on the show. are you just starting your book tour? >> yes. >> we'll see you again soon. coming up, alan alda will tell us what he's teaching, next on "morning joe." rahhhhhh!

when i'm hungry, my tummy growls. rrrrrrrrrrrr! when i'm hungry, i feel like i want to faint. this is my hungry monster. one in six americans struggle with hunger every single day. if i could stop hunger, i would definitely do it. [ male announcer ] let's growl back at hunger. during april, stock up at walmart on select groceries marked with the child hunger ends here red pushpin and you'll be contributing to food banks in your own community. join us in creating the biggest growl ever. ♪

waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. but i wondered what a i tcustomer thought? is great, hi nia... nice to meet you nia, i'm mike. what do you drive?

i have a ford explorer, i love my car. and you're treating it well? yes i am. there are a lot of places you could take your explorer for service, why do you bring it back to the ford dealership? they specifically work on fords. it seems to me like the best care. and it's equal or less money, so it's a value for me. get a free brake inspection and brake pads installed for just 49.95 after rebates when you use the ford service credit card. who doesn't enjoy value? and didn't know where to start. used a contractor before at angie's list, you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare written by people just like you. no company can pay to be on angie's list, so you can trust what you're reading. angie's list is like having thousands of close neighbors where i can go ask for personal recommendations. that's the idea. before you have any work done, check angie's list. from roofers to plumbers to dentists and more, angie's list -- reviews you can trust. i love you, angie. sorry, honey.

anthony weiner, you guys remember him, right? now saying he might be running for mayor of new york city and i guess he's trying to get the word out because this week, he returned to twitter. that's just what my computer needs, more pop-ups. actually, though, anthony weiner, he posted his first tweet. just a photo of a pamphlet on how to help new york city. right there. can we zoom out? there we go. he can't help himself. >> seriously, why would he do that? tell us what happened with the twitter account yesterday. >> yesterday afternoon, market was up 144 points. tweeted out there were two explosions at the white house

and that the president was injured. the market went to even, so a loss of 140 points. about 300 billion in value in a matter of minutes. ap pulled the account, said it was hacked, the market went back up. did you buy or sell in that time period? >> i invest at the dog track. >> the high frequency traders have keywords they look for and based on these words coming through twitter, there were automatic sell programs, so that's sort of how it happened. fascinating move. about $300 billion moved around, but mom and pop didn't feel a thing. >> another story that broke yesterday. lance armstrong having to pay up maybe. >> yeah, he might have to pay the piper or repay the postal service at least. the u.s. justice department officially filed a lawsuit against the disgraced cyclist and his company, tail wind sports. it says armstrong was quote unjustly enriched while cheating. the u.s. postal service spent 40

million a year to sponsor the team. i think he got about 17 million. the department of justice seeking triple damages in this case. it will be assessed by the jury, but they have to prove not only that the postal service was defrauded, but that it was somehow damaged. armstrong has said the postal service profited from it. >> so, this morning, durable goods down 5.7% in march. what does that mean? >> that's a big drop. it's a volatile number and sometimes, they talk about seasonalties. we're trying to figure out what degree we've slowed down. >> thank you. tomorrow, we're going to sit down with stanley mcchrystal and later, he'll join us for our average series. if you have any questions for the top commander of american forces in afghanistan, tweet them. we'll use the best ones in our

interview. i think people can figure it out. up next -- >> the professor. >> alan alda joins us next on "morning joe." [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go.

you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. yes, you could. when ouwe got a subaru.s born, it's where she said her first word. (little girl) no! saw her first day of school. (little girl) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) designed for your most precious cargo. (girl) what? (announcer) the all-new subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru,

joining us now, emmy and golden globe award winning

actor, alan alda, now a professor at center for communicating since. i want to do an improve workshop with you. can you imagine doing that with him? all right. >> did that in the past. >> he does improv workshops with scientists to help them communicate complex concepts in a more understandable way. >> never mind. that is a great idea. we want to go there. but let's first talk about this week, alan arvis passed away. worked with with you on mash. >> and a wonderful guy and so believable in his character. we useded to sit, when he first came on the show, i'd sit with him between shots and ask him questions about psychiatric theory and he started to look at me like what is this guy talking -- he didn't know anything about it. i knew he wasn't, but it sort

of -- >> he was great. >> everybody did on the show. >> it's fascinating what you're doing. i was a lawyer and we did some criminal, we did some defense work for doctors. and we'd say, 90% of your problem is a communication problem. from the very beginning, you would sit there and tell your patients what's going on, why it's happening and explain it to them. they would you know, you'd build a better relationship. >> i've heard from several members of congress that cannot understand scientists when they come to present their work to them and look for funding. why would you give money to somebody who's work you don't understand? doesn't make sense. what we do, we don't normally -- improvisation is an innovative way to help them relate to the people they're talking to, so that gets a lot of attention because it's innovative. we also teach writing and what

we're trying to do is make it clear and vivid. not dumb it down. not make it oversimplified, but make it so that you, for instance, we started a contest called flame challenge where scientists around the world were invited to explain what a flame was so an 11-year-old could understand it. and thousands of kids around the world, all over like from australia, all kinds of place, judged the scientist's entries and it brought the scientists up to face what it's like to be simple, but accurate. >> how fascinating, left brain, right brain. you have these people who are so brilliant in their field and yet, very limited sometimes in being able to express themselves in a way that an 11-year-old or, or a 40-year-old -- >> but there's a good reason why they don't talk in every day

language. because to do their work, sometimes, one word will stand in for five pages of very technical procedures. and they should talk like that and they should be precise like that when talking to one another. if they're in the exact same field. but when one scientist tries to communicate with another, who's in a completely different field, sometimes, they use the same word to mean different things, so they really need to talk with more clarity. even when talking to one another. >> again, the importance is when they go to congress, when they testify, when they're trying to get funding for critical rnd projects, it really makes a difference. >> so, how much does expression have to do? is it find iing just the right words or is a whole manner of communicating that needs to change? >> one of the things we're finding is that the improvisation makes them relate to the people they're talking to, so they're thinking about what the person listening the talking. which changes the way they're

talking. makes it more personal. and that also spills over into the writing. when they write, they write in a more direct way. they don't spray information at the reader. >>. >> it's kind of a joke, probably help them with their social skills, too. and for me in world, it would work, too, when you have economists coming in to high schools talking about liquidity and derivatives. everyone's got a blank face. >> maybe you could help brian because i shut down when he does the business report. >> i come over, mika says, oh, you're still here? >> the whole thing like sequestration. >> it sounds like something bad to a bowl. it doesn't sound good. >> that could be explained better. >> i actually was robert gibbs, who's now at the white house, we were sitting on the set and the president was trying to talk about the filibuster and he was

going to the audience and he said something like, instead of saying the filibuster, the president finally said to this audience, back in congress, they're playing some political game to even keep the vote from co coming up on the senate floor. i turned to gibbs. thank god. people can understand that so much better than filibuster. sequestration. >> it makes personal terms like that and to understand that the person you're talking to is processing this in a certain way, that makes a channel of communication open up between the both of you and if it's not two way, it's not communication. >> by the way, it's not dumbing it down because a lot of people say, oh, you've got to dumb it down for the american people? no, guess what? the american people aren't sitting there weeding the congressional quarter. they're working, trying to get their kids you know, through school. trying to get them into a college. trying to keep their jobs. so, yeah, it's the responsibility of the

communique. >> and the fact they haven't learned the technical terms doesn't mean they're stupid or can't understand what the terms mean. if you can speak in language that they can understand, they'll get it. >> i just wonder, go ahead, brian. >> i just want to ask to senator brewster get involved in this particular situation. >> i don't want to like destroy your image or anything, but i'm not those people. >> no, no, i know. but one of the best actors of our time is -- >> just like you mistook alan arvis for counseling. goes all around. >> it happens to all of us. how did you get into this? zwl it came out of the science shows i did. for 15 years or so, i've done science shows on public television and we had simple conversation, the sicientists ad i. and they were unscripted. and the real scientists, the

real person behind the scientist came out because i wouldn't give up. if i didn't get it, i just said, grab you by the lapel, sometimes by the cheeks, what are you talking about? and they would get so much more human with me because they were finally focused on me. they were really tryinging to get into my head instead of lecture me. >> i actually say that to my kids. >> i know. i say it to you. >> they start talking, i don't understand what you're saying. talk slower. dad's not smart. >> just really quickly though because it seems to me sometimes, it's not just finding the right words, but that connection. and that eye contact an the emphasis because sometimes, even if you don't understand the words, if you're not a scientist, you can understand what the scientist is saying. isn't that the case if they are helping in their actual physicality of communication? >> i think so. i think paying attention to the other person makes the other person much better able to hear what you're saying. if they think this isn't really meant for me, this is what you

say in general, this is boilerplate thing, we're kind of trained not to listen to commercials. >> no. >> you know. >> you could do some work here with us. we should do an exercise. >> we need to have you come back. >> maybe you have one, we'll have you back. would you do that with us? >> sure and you can do the economics. >> we'll help him along. i'll try not to shut down. alan alda, thank you very much. up next, what if anything did we learn today? we have nice weather on both coasts today, but in the middle of the country, a little rain and a lot of cold. rain from ohio through kentucky,

tennessee, maybe a thunderstorm in atlanta, a possibility of a thunderstorm around new orleans. it's still chilly in the midwest. we'll improve from here. ut the t feature of all is... the capital one purchase eraser. i can redeem the double miles i earned with my venture card to erase recent travel purchases. and with a few clicks, this mission never happened. uh, what's this button do? [ electricity zaps ] ♪ you requested backup? yes. yes i did. what's in your wallet?

a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand!

xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options,

call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. what we learned today, mika? >> if you have a bad boat, you can just retire. >> i like it. it's working for him. tired, you can just leave. >> yeah. >> have a good day. >> yeah. >> bye. >> good to meet you, too. so, i guess you're not the only one that bores mika. >> i know i do. >> is so, what have you learned? >> america still has a sense of humor and can forgive. i want to see where a.j. clemente goes from here. >> i